Method of handling crossties



April 12, 1949. A. M. DEITERS 2,467,113

' METHOD OF HANDLING CROSSTIES Y 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 4, 1946\INVEN TOR.

M. DuTEns BY W ' ATITOHNPJS/s 4 131. v L F .37fl7rade arr b4 mwfll W E Tm ww MN \S. w 9 RN h l l l l MM H Q wW mm -i: w NW M u N 3 Q H d N?mmvron. an. Dn'rms BY MA r M nnonuzvs April 12, 1949. A. M. DEITERSMETHOD OF HANDLING CROSSTIES Filed Nov. 4, 1946 April 12, 1949. A. M.DEITERS METHOD OF HANDLING CROSSTIES Filed NOV. 4, 1946 9 Sheets-Sheet 3ll TI'URNIQUS April 12, 1949.

A. M.-DE|TERS METHOD OF HANDLING CROSSTIES 9 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed NOV. 4, 1946 INVENTOR. A. M. DEITERS By W A'ITORNEYJ' I April 12,1949,

Filed Nov. 4, 1946.

METHOD OF HANDLING CROSSTIES A. DEl TERS 9 Sheets-Shee t 5 INVENTOR.

A :1 1251mm,

HTTOEV April 12, 1949. A. M.'DEITERS 2,467,113

METHOD OF HANDLING CROSS'I'IES Filed Nov. 4, ,1946 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 2 T4I i i'\ w? m w E w s z e I 1 e 1] L N i 1 ai 5 e N INVENTOR. 3AMDEITL'RS ATTORNEYS April 1949a A. M. DEITERS 2,467,113

METHOD OF HANDLING CROSSTI-ES 9 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Nov. 4, 1946 96 I27 jg. BY AHDEITERS ,p I

ATTORNEVS April 12, 1949. A. M. DEITERS METHOD OF HANDLING CROSSTIESFiled Nov. 4, 1946 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 nvwzzvroa A. M. 121:: TER5 BY; LE

nwonutv April 12,1949. A.M.DEIT1=RS 2,467,113

1111111101101 HANDLING cnoss rms Filed Nov. 4, 1945 9 She ets-Sheet 91Z2 5/ A, .4"; v

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 12, 1949 2,467,113 METHOD or nannnmo onoss'rmsAugust M. Delters, Atlanta, Ga...

Southern Wood Preserving Company,

assignor to Atlanta,

Ga., a corporation of Georgia Application November 4, 1946, Serial No.707,681 4 Claims. (Cl. 214-152) This invention relates to a method ofhandling crossties in air seasoning yards of wood preserving plants.Among other objects, it aims to provide a novel method of unloadinggreen crossties which are usually delivered to wood preserving plants inrailroad cars, pre-stacking them in the form of complete, portable ricksand temporarily storing the completed ricks at a central station orlocation in the yard, so that they can be transported to the points onthe yard where they are to be deposited for air seasoning.

Another aim is to provide a novel method. which eliminates the enormousamount of manual labor required according to the present methods forhandling heavy crossties. D

Still another aim is to provide a novel method of unloading greencrossties, pre-arranging them in groups including layers and stringers,corresponding with the layers and stringers of the usual air seasoningricks, and then assembling the pre-arranged layers with the stringers toform complete, portable ricks.

A further aim is to provide a method of automatically and mechanicallyspacing a group of crossties in the form of a rick layer and conveyingand arranging one or two of the crossties below the layer across itsopposite ends to provide the necessary spacing stringers or risersemployed in the formation of a rick.

Also, the invention aims to provide a novel method of picking upsuccessive, pre-arranged layers of crossties, together with a stringeror stringers and transferring them to form complete ricks.

Furthermore, the invention aims to provide a novel method oftransferring and temporarilystoring complete, portable ricks ofcrossties at a central station or location on the yard, awaitingtransfer to points on the yard where the ricks are to be deposited forair seasoning.

Other aims and advantages of the invention will appear in thespecification, when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view' showing apparatus for practicing the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a part of the unloading and conveyorequipment;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the remainder of the apparatus shown inFig. 1, including a spacing table for pre-arranging the crossties ingroups and means to transfer them to form complete seasoning ricks;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale, showingtransfer mechanism for delivering the crossties to a conveyor leading toa cut-oi! saw;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevation of spacing mechanism for thecrossties;

Fig. '1 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a part of the spacing table;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the spacing table showing a crosstie in theprocess of being transferred from the spacing table to form a stringeron one side of the table; I

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the apparatus shownin Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of a grapple for transferring groups ofpre-arranged crossties from the spacing table to form a rick;

Fig. 12 is an end elevation of the grapple shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of aportion of the grapple taken on the line I3-l3 in Fig. 11, parts beingomitted;

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the grapple with the hooks open; and

i Fig. 15 is an end elevation of the loaded grapple about to deposit alayer of crossties with a stringer in place on a rick.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated apparatus is shown as beingdesigned to unload green crossties from railroad cars, automobiletrucks, or the like, and is adapted to pre-arrange and stack them in theform of complete, portable ricks at a central location in the storageyard of a wood preserving plant. As explained in my copendingapplication Serial Number 564,509, filed .November 21, 1944, the problemof handling green crossties in wood preserving plants has become amatter of vital importance in the industry because of the tremendousamount of arduous manual labor involved in handling them in accordancewith the conventional method. Heretofore, it has been customary tounload green crossties from railroad ears, one at a time, and carry themmanually to points in the yard and then form air seasoning rickscontaining up to about one hundred twenty-seven crossties in each rick.The ricks are usually arranged in rows at right angles to spur tracks;so that, after they have been exposed to air driving for from, say fourto fourteen months, the crossties can be loaded on tram cars andtransported or conveyed to a processing mill for adzing and boringbefore being subjected to the usual preservative treatment. If adzingand boring are not required, the crossties are usually placed directlyon ordinary treatment trams and conveyed to the treating cylinders.

Railroad crossties are usually about seven by nine inches in crosssection and eight and onehalf feet long. Green crossties weight from twohundred to tw'o hundred seventy-five pounds,

each, and it has beenthe custom in the industry to pay laborers on apiece work basis covering each of the carrying operations to and fromthe stacks or ricks. Ordinary seasoning yards of large preserving plantsare provided with railroad spur tracks spaced approximately one hundredtwenty feet apart and the ricks are usually stacked on opposite sides ofthe spur tracks so that the distance to be traversed by the laborers isnot more than about sixty feet. The loaded cars must be spotted on thetracks opposite the points where the ricks are to be built. The layoutof a yard is such as to utilize a maximum amount of storage space oneach side of the center line of the spur tracks.

An ordinary rick of crossties usually comprises a bottom horizontallayer of spaced, parallel crossties supported at their opposite ends ontwo transverse crossties or stringers and, successive layers, includinga stringer at alternate opposite ends, are stacked on the bottom layer,the.arrangement being such that the superposed layers are alternatelyand oppositely inclined longitudinally, zig-zag fashion, so that theywill shed water and avoid surface contact between the crossties inadjacent layers. The spaces between the crossties of each layer andbetween successive layers provide for ample air circulation throughouteach rick. The ricks must be well formed and of uniform size and shapeso that they will conserve the storage space in the seasoning yard andfacilitate uniform drying.

The apparatus disclosed in the aforesaid co-' pending application isdesigned to unload green crossties and facilitate their formation intoportable ricks, shown as being built on tram cars for subsequenttransfer to locations in a storage yard where the ricks are to bedeposited for air seasoning. The apparatus in that application includesconveyor means for delivering the crossties, one at a time, in parallelrelation and in succession to a point above a tram car. The crosstiesare then adapted to be arranged manually by two workmen standing on anelevator platform to form a complete rick on the tram car. That methodalso involves considerable manual labor and the rate of unloading thecrossties from a single car or vehicle is limited by the rate at whichthe workmen can arrange the crossties in the form of stringers andlayers. Moreover, the method requires great skill on the part of themanual laborers to form vertical ricks of uniform size and shape to bepicked up from the tram cars and transported by a special straddletruck. v

One form of the apparatus for unloading and pre-stacking or pre-formingricks of crossties in the storage yard of'a wood preserving plant,provided with railroad tracks, is best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Itwill be understood, however, that the apparatus can be used with equalfacility in plants which employ auto trucks for delivering the greencrossties and for transporting the completed ricks. In the illustratedexample, the green crossties are shown as being unloaded from anordinary box car It on a railroad track in or near the storageyard of awood preserving plant.

They are usually piled up in'layers in a box car and are preferablyunloaded by employing a special type of crane like that shown in myPatent No. 2,382,299. It is shown as being arranged on one side of therailroad track and has a swinging arm ll adapted to be swung intoposition in the adjacent car door opening. It carries a horizontallymovable boom l2 pivotally mounted on the arm I I so that it can beprojected into either end of the box car and then out through theopposite door. as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The boom is adapted to beracked or projected and retracted by means of a motor l3 and it carriesa hoisting cable l4 operated by a second motor is at the rear end of theboom. A multiple grapple I6, like that shown in my Patent 2,403,346,adapted to pick up a plurality of crossties by grasping them at theiropposite ends, is carried by the hoisting cable and is designed todeposit the group of crossties on a slightly inclined roller or gravityconveyor l'l, it being understood that the grapple hooks are adapted tobe automatically released from their grasping engagement with the groupof crossties when they come to rest on the roller conveyor andautomatically latched in open position. A platform It is providedadjacent to one side of the conveyor I! to afford ready access to theloaded grapple and discharged crossties, if required. The hooks areadapted to be unlatched by a workman to grasp a new load in the box car.For this purpose, the grapple has a hook releasing handle I 9 on oneside (Fig. 2). The operation of the crane is remotely controlled bymeans of a portable switch (not shown), carried -by an operator in thecar and the grapple is guided to engage the crossties by a workmanstationed inside the car. When the loaded grapple is hoisted in the car,the boom is retracted and swung around to a position transversely of thecar, so that it can be projected through the door to. a point above theroller conveyor I I. The boom may be guided automatically to its properunloading position as it is projected, by any suitable guide means (notshown). The crane is adapted to unload the crossties from the box car asfast as the apparatus can arrange and stack them in the form ofcompleted ricks.

The groups of unloaded crossties roll down the gravity conveyor l1 andare carried on by an ordinary conveyor 20 having a pair of horizontalruns of sprocket chains driven by front sprockets 2| secured on atransverse shaft 22 journalled in horizontal supporting beams 23. Thecrossties are adapted to accumulate on the roller conveyor l1 and thefirst chain conveyor 20, awaiting transfer in their regular turn to asecond chain conveyor 24 having spaced lugs or fingers 25 and guided inhorizontal channels or guides 26 (Fig. 5) The second conveyor chains aretrained over rear sprockets 21 and front sprockets 28, the rearsprockets being free to rotate on the shaft 22 and the front sprocketsbeing secured on a transverse shaft 29. A motor 30 is shown as beingconnected to drive the rear conveyor shaft 22 by means of 7 speedreducing pulleys and a belt drive trained on the second chain conveyor24, a pair of transfer cams 33 are fixed on or carried by the sprockets21 and have cam surfaces engaging the 1 bottom of the crossties at theirforward edges to lift them over the stop pins 3| (Figs. 4 and 5). Thecam surfaces terminate in points 34 which engage the lower faces of thecrossties behind their centers of gravity to pick up and positivelytransfer them over the stop pins. It will be understood thatone crosstieis thus transferred for-each revolution of the transfer cams 32 and thespacing of the lugs or fingers 25 on the chain conveyor 24 is such thatthe successively transferred crossties are engaged by successivefingers. Naturally, the speed of rotation of the transfer camsdetermines the rat at which the crossties are delivered.

The second chain conveyor 24 carries the crossties in parallel relationpast a circular saw 35, which is also driven by'a belt connected to themotor 30 to cut off-the crossties, which are too long, to their properlength. The cut off ends are conveniently deposited in an ordinaryinclined chute 36, arranged below the saw 35 and leading to one side ofthe conveyor.

ferred to the second conveyor, they are pushed endwise in the oppositedirection into the path of saw by an adjustable pusher cam 38. Then thefingers 25 carry the crossties in succession past the saw and the endsof the long ones are cut off. Incidentally, the crossties are usuallycut oil in the forest by means of ordinary crosscut saws and theirlength varies slightly, because they cannot easily be cut squarely byunskilled workmen. This accounts for som difference in the length of thecrossties.

After the crossties are cut to their proper length, they are transferredfrom the second conveyor 24 to a third conveyor 39, as best shown inFig. 3, comprising a pair of sprocket chains trained over frontsprockets 40 keyed on a shaft 4| adjacent to a horizontal spacing table,where the successive crossties are to be arranged in groups or layerswith associated stringers. The crossties can accumulate on the thirdchain conveyor 39 awaiting their turn to be delivered to the spacingtable and are adapted to be held back so that the-chains 39 run underthem while a pre-arranged group is being picked up from the spacingtable.

In this example, the spacing table is shown as including a pair ofhorizontal channel beams 42 (Fig. '7) having upper channel guides 43 forconveyor chains 44 trained over front and rear sprockets 45 and 46 atthe forward and rear ends of the beams. The front sprockets 45 arearranged on a transverse shaft 41 which 'is conveniently driven by asuitable motor 48 having reduction gearing (not shown) arranged underthe spacing table. The rear sprockets 45 are free to rotate on the shaft4| and the motor 48 is also connected by a chain and sprocket to drivethe shaft 4| and the conveyors 39 and 24 (Figs. 3 and 9). The conveyorchains 44 on the spacing table are driven at a much greater speed thanthe conveyor chains 39, so that the first crosstie in each new groupwill be conveyed well ahead of the one behind it, as clearly shown inFig. 10. Mechanically operated stop fingers 49, later to be described,act as barriers for the accumulated crossties on the third chainconveyor 39. when a layer with its stringer or stringers is removed fromthe table, the stop fingers 49 are retracted and permit the accumulatedcrossties to be transferred in succession to the spacing table in orderto form another group. The front crosstie, shown in Fig. 10, is ready tobe transferred to provide a stringer at one or the other end of a layerto be formed on the table. For that purpose, wide chain conveyors 50 arearranged on opposite sides of the spacing table with their upper runsbelow the level of the upper runs of the conveyor chains 44. They aretrained over front and rear drums or large sprockets 5| and 52 and aredriven in the opposite direction from the upper conveyor chains 44through suitable reversing gearing 53 connected to the shaft 4| carryingthe rear sprockets 46 of the chains 44. The stringer. chains 50 arepreferably driven at a much slower speed than the conveyor chains 44.

Referring again to Fig. 10, the front crosstie on the spacing table ison the way to form a stringer. It is adapted to run off the conveyorchains 44 onto a pair of horizontal, forwardly converging, cylindricalrollers 54 and 55 shown as being mounted in upstanding-bearin racketsslightly below the level of the chains 44. The arrangement of theserollers is such that the crosstie is practically balanced on them as itleaves the chain conveyors and a workman stationed on a platform 56,grasps the adjacent end of the crosstie and tilts it over toward theopposite side'of the spacing table, at the same time pushing it endwiseover the roller 54, so that it will slide down onto the forwardlyextending upper run of the stringer conveyor 50. Then the workman pushesthe grasped end of the crosstie forwardly and to his right, as indicatedby the dotted lines, so that it will ride on one of a pair of forwardlyand downwardly inclined and diverging roller or gravity conveyors 51.Meanwhile, that portion of the crosstie on the forward portion of theconveyor 50 will have been conveyed rearwardly by means of widelyspaced, upstanding legs 58 on the outer edge of the chain and thereleased end of the crosstie swings around to a position more nearlyaligned with the stringer conveyor chain. When the crosstie is firstpushed across the front end of the stringer'chain it is prevented fromfalling off its forward end by means of an upstanding post or stopmember 59. Pivot posts 50 are also arranged adjacent to the forward endsof the table conveyor chains 44,

so that, as the stringer chain continues its movethe trailing endportion is arrested by the post 59 and prevented from falling off theconveyor. Also'the overhanging end of the crosstie is shown as engaginga curved guide plate 6|, which serves as a stop for a released stringerand then guides it onto the upper run of the stringer chain and thestringer tie finally comes to rest against a stop member 62 at the rearend of the upper run of the stringer chain. Then the stringer chaincontinues to run under the arrested stringer.

It will be understood that a similar operation is performed when it isdesired to convey a stringer crosstie to the stringer conveyor chain 50on the operators side of the spacing table. In that case, the operatorwill tilt the end, nearest to him, downwardly, while the crosstie isrolled downwardly on the roller 55 and then shifted across the gravityconveyor 51 on that side of the table.

7 Incidentally, the operator can help to guide the grasped end of thecrosstie onto the upper-run of the stringer conveyor 50 while thecrosstie is moving rearwardly. The cam guiding member 63 on theoperator's side of the machine is therefore shorter than the cam guideplate I. This leaves ample room for the operators to work on theplatform '56. a

It will be understood that two stringer crossties are arranged on thestringer'conveyors when the first layer of a rick is formed on thespacing table. Thereafter, and during the formation-of successivelayers, the stringer crossties are fed onto the stringer conveyorsalternately on oppo-. successive site sides of the table, one for eachlayer. It will be readily understood that the workman can quicklydispose of the crossties whichform the stringers. Then, he watches'themany pairs of spacing fingers as there are cross-' ties required to forma layer. In this instance eight pairs of such fingers are shown toprovide for making standard rick layers. The space between the fingersin their raisedposition is suchas to accommodate a crosstie and allowfor the necessary air sp'acevbetween it andthe nextad- Jacent one. Allof the fingersare normally parallel with each'other and fall by gravityto their inactive positions against stop pins 86; on the beams 42. Theyare adapted to be raised one at a time and in succession to their activepositions to arrest the successive crossties on the table.

' The first pair of fingers 64 at'the front end of the table; as shownat the right in Fig. .6, is adapted to be manually raised to aninitially active'position with theupper ends slightly above 7 the levelOf the conveyor chains 44. For this purpose-.the lower free end of eachof these fingers is conveniently connected by a link '61 to a crank,shaft' 88 operated by a foot treadle 69 arranged cn-thejplatform 56 andadapted to be depressed by the operator after he has disposed of therequired stringers. The arrangement'is such'that the-first crosstiestrikes the partially lifted front fingers, shown in the intermediatedotted position a, pushes them forwardly to the second dotted positionb, where they are arrested by suitable stop pins 10 projecting inwardlyfrom the. channel beams 42. Now, the series of fingers are so connectedas to be lifted 'or raised successively rear links 12 only when thefingers are initially lifted to theiractive positions a. Then, furtherforward movement imparted to the uplifted fingersby the crossties raisesthe successive fingers to their'active positions. The arrangement is thesame as if the pivot pins between the links 12 and the lower ends of thesuccessive fingers were extended into the path of the depending I links'II to kick them rearwardly and the successive fingers upwardly to theirintermediate active positions. The rear fingers, shown at the left endofFig. 6; are shown as being connected to project the stop fingers 49,previously described, into the path of the oncoming crossties as soon asthe last of a layer of crossties has been fed onto the table and pushedthe last pair of fingers 64 to their uppermost position b. While thismay be accomplished by connecting links, the stop fingers 49 are shownas being pivoted at their lower ends while they rest in a forwardlyinclinedposition with, their upper ends normally below the level of theconveyor chains 44. A pair of tog le links 19 and 14 are shown as beingconnected to a pivot-pin 15 intermediate the ends of the links 49, thelower link 14 being pivoted to a stationary pivot pin Hi. Theintermediate pivot pin 11 between the toggle links is connected by meansofa chain or other pull element I8 to a pivot pin 19 on each of the lastfingers 64 above their pivot pins 65. The construction and arrangementof the toggle links is such that when the last pair of fingers 64 israised to its final position -b the toggle links will be nearlystraight- -ened'out,' stiff-leg fashion, andwill swing and raise thestop. fingers 49 to their vertical positions to act as barriers for theoncoming crossties. The toggle links are prevented from swinging beyondtheir stiff-leg position by means of a stop pin 90 in the path of thelinks 13. When this-happens a complete layer of crossties with astringer or stringers is ready to be removed from the spacing table anddeposited on a tram car. As soon as the pre-arranged group of crosstiesis lifted to clear the fingers 64, the stops 49 will fall by gravity totheir normal inactive positions; asshown in full lines in Fig. 6.

The pre-arranged group of crossties must be picked up and transferred,while enough crossties are approaching theospacing table to form thenext group; In this example, all of the crosstiesin-the preformed'group, are picked up, as a'unit, by means of .a special hoistingv rapple8| embodying some of the principal features of thegrap'ple shown in myPatent No. 2,403,346.

Itxis adapted to be raised and lowered by means into the path of thoncoming crossties. For this purpose, a series of depending short links1| arev loosely pivoted on thepivot bolts 65. Their lower I ends arepivotally connected to the lower ends of the succeeding links 64 bymeans of links 12. The links H are arranged on alternate, op-

posite sides of the successive fingers 64, so that they are in differentplanes; while the links 12 are arranged on alternate. opposites'idesoft-the v successive fingers and the depending links 1],- so that eachof the successive fingers: and the; successive links 12 lie in thesame-plane, and the depending ends of the fingers will strikethe'lowermost ends of the links 12 and kickthem forwardly in successionto raise the successive pairs of fingers into their initial activepositions, cor

83, which also transfersthe load to the rickforming station above a tramcar 84 on a spur track 95 leading to the storage yard,

'He'rein, the grapple is-shown as comprising a generallyrectangular'frame having end frame members orybeams 96 and a pair ofparallel grappleshafts "at its opposite sides carryingpivotedgrab-hooksla like those shown in the aforesaid patent. The hooksare so spaced as to engage the opposite ends of the spaced crossties onthe'spacing or grouping table. To prevent the rouped crossties fromrotating on their longitudinal axes, the hooks are shown as having pairs,of spaced barbs 89. All of the hooks are adapted to be raised andopened by means of pivoted bail members 99 which engage and ride on thesurresponding with the position act; the iirstpair of fingers.

In other words,'th ef1ower ends .of the successive fingers engage thenext adjacent face ofthe'crossties when the grapple is lowered onthemandi the balls carry pivoted latches 9| engaging the hubs of thehooks to hold them open.

The latches are adapted to be released manually by means of operatinghandles 92 extending on opposite sides of the frame and connected tocrank arms on a spring urged shaft 93 carrying cranks 94 and linkspivotally connected to the latches on opposite sides. This arrangementis somewhat similar to that shown in the aforesaid patent.

In order to pick up stringer crossties with a layers of spaced ones, thegrapple is also shown as having special stringer hooks 96 at itsopposite ends andpivoted on its opposite sides to swing vertically atright angles to the other hooks. The stringer hooks are pivoted to theframe above the level of the side hooks 88. They are shown as beingL-shaped, having horizontal arms 91 carrying stirrups 98 resting on thearms of the hooks 88, so that the side hooks willswing them to openposition and all of the hooks will be operated simultaneously.

The grapple is here shown as having rigid hoisting frame members 99 nearthe opposite ends connected to slotted plates I carrying a shiftablelifting bar IOI, also mounted in elongated slots I02 in pivotedupstanding shifting arms I03. The lifting bar extends beyond the twonotched plates and is connected by links to two hoisting blocks I04carried by cables I05 connected to the monorail carriage 82 and woundupon an ordinary winding drum on the carriage. The two plates I00 havecentral notches I06 and side notches I01 and I08. The upper ends of thearms I03 are bridged by a crossbar I09 to which is connected a pair oftension springs IIO normally to shift the lifting bar IOI to its centralposition into vertical alignment with the notches I06. When the cablesare paid off, the bar will fall by gravity into central lower notchesIII in the plates I00. This happens when a load of crossties isdeposited on the rick R. and, when tension is again applied to thecables by the hoist, the liftin bar will rise vertically to engage thecentral upper notch I06 to pick up the grapple and keep it balanced inits horizontal position. The side notches are so spaced that theyoverlie the center of gravity of the grapple, with a stringer suspendedon either side, thereby making it possible to balance the load andprevent it from tilting sidewise.

In order to shift the bar IIII, when the grapple is lowered upon a layerof crossties on the spacing table, the crossbar I09 is shown as carryinga pair of handles I I2 extending on opposite sides of the grapple toenable the operator to shift both of the arms carrying the. bar IOI intoone or the other of the end notches I01 or I08. The operator will holdthe handle with the bar thus shifted until hoisting tension is againapplied. It will be understood that when a layer of crossties with twostringers is picked up, the lifting bar is not shifted from its centralposition. In Figure 15, the grapple is shown as carrying a layer ofcrossties with a stringer on the left-hand side and the lifting bar IOIhas been shifted to the left-hand notches I08, so that the grapple isbalanced in its horizontal position.

The hoisting carriage 82 is adapted to be stopped in the proper positionto lower the grapple over a layer of spaced crossties on the spacingtable by means of an ordinary limit switch H3. The carriage is alsoshown as having guiding horns I I4 at opposite ends to receive theloaded grapple in its lifted position and prevent it from swinging whilethe hoisting carriage is moved from one position to another. It will beunderstood that the grapple can be guided to its lowered position bysuitable guides (not shown). However, this can be accomplished by theoperator, who can grasp one of the operating handles. There is a slighttendency for the grapple to swing endwise as it is lowered.

When the loaded grapple is hoisted and conveyed to a position over thetram car to form the rick R, it is stopped automatically in its properposition by means of an ordinary limitswitch I I5. To guide the layer ofcrossties to its proper position on the rick, there is shown an elevatorplatform II6 surrounding the rick and conveniently operated by a motorIII driving a .drum II8 carrying cables II9 connected to the fourcorners of the platform. The platform is guided by the supporting beamsI20 for the monorail structure. The platform is shown as carryingupstanding, guiding horns I2I curved mwardly at their upper ends toprovide cam guides ;I22' for the grapple as it is lowered to theloaddelivering position. In this instance, the grapple shafts '81 areshown as projecting beyond the end frame members 86 and they carry guiderollers I23 adapted to engage the cam guides. The upper ends of thehorns are also shown as being bevelled to guide the grapple into thespace between the pairs of guide horns.

The elevator platform also provides a cat-walk to permit an operator toclimb upon it and rearrange any misplaced crossties deposited on therick. It is limited in its movement by upper and lower limit-switchesI24. When the rick is finished, it will be understood that the elevatorplatform is lifted above the level of the completed rick to permit theloaded tram car to be moved out of its position and a new one spotted tobe loaded. Then the elevator platform is lowered to about the levelof-the platform of the tram car.

To control the operation of the chain conveyors, the grapple hoist andthe elevator platform around the rick, there is shown a single switchcontrol box I25, conveniently arranged near the forward end of thespacing table on one side, where a control operator can watch theoperation of 'all of the mechanism. The conveyors control the feedingmovement of the crossties to the spacing table in accordance with therate of hoisting and transferring them to pro-stack the ricks and theoperator can stop the operation of any of the apparatus to permitrepairs or shifting any misplaced crossties.

In order to store a plurality of the completed portable rickstemporarily at the unloading station, before they are transferred topoints in the air seasoning yard, the loaded tram cars are adapted to betransferred to a plurality of temporary storage spur tracks I26 adjacentto the unloading station. For this purpose, a track I2'I below the levelof and at right anglesto the track carries an ordinary fiat car I28having a platform with a section of track on it to match the rails ofthe track 85. A motor operated winch I29 is shown as being employed forshifting the tram cars and fiat car by means of a cable I30 and a seriesof horizontal sheaves I3 I. An operator can train the cable aroundappropriate sheaves and pull or transfer the tram cars and the tramcarrier car in any desireddirection, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, it being only necessary to hitch the cable to aportion of the tram car and shift it in the desired direction. In Fig.1,.the cable is shown as being hitched to the transfer carriage or flatcar I28 carrying a loaded rick to the proper point so that the tram carthe side opposite from the storage spur tracks I26.

It will be understood that there may not be enough crossties of onespecies of wood to form a number of complete ricks. If a rick is notcomplete when the railroad car is empty, the partially loaded tram carcan easily be shifted to one of the temporary storage tracks I32 andthere await the arrival of another railroad carcontaining crossties ofthe same species of wood. Then the partial rick will be returned to rickforming station and the rick will be completed.

Reference is here made to the method of transferring completed ricks anddepositing them in a seasoning yard, disclosed in my aforesaid copendingapplication, Serial No. 564,509. It will be understood that a yardlocomotive will pick up a train load of tram cars stored on thetemporary storage tracks I26 and convey them to points on the yard wherethey are picked up from the tram cars by means of a special straddletruck and deposited on opposite sides of the spur tracks in rows ofstacks, as fully described in said application.

From the foregoing description, it will be noted that the inventioneliminates all of the arduous manual labor involved in handlingcrossties and greatly increases the rate of unloading and prestackingthem for transfer to a seasoning yard. The apparatus can be housed toenable the operators to work during inclement weather. The pre-iormedricks are made of uniform size and shape and can easily be transferredand deposited on the seasoning yard.

Obviously, the invention is not restricted to the particular embodimentthereof, described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a method of handling green crossties at away herein shown and 12an unloading station in a seasoning yard, the steps which comprisedelivering unloaded ties to a rick-forming station; successivelyarranging roups of the delivered ties into horizontal rick layers, eachlayer being composed of a plurality of spaced parallel ties and astringer tie positioned below and across at least one end of the layerof parallel ties; successively transferring each formed layer with itsstringer tie as a unit,

without disturbing the arrangement of the ties therein; and depositingthe layers horizontally oimleI upon another to form a built up seasoningr c 2. The method, as set forth in claim 1, further characterized bycutting the ties to substantially the same length in transit from theunloading station to the rick-forming station.

3. The method, as set forth in claim 1, further characterized by'spacingthe groups of ties in each layer substantially uniformly; placing a pairof stringer ties across the opposite ends of the ties constituting thefirst ricklayer; and then placing single stringer ties across alternateends of the successive rick layers.

4. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the successive ricklayers are deposited on a portable support whereby the completed ricksmay be moved away, as formed.

AUGUST M. DEITERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent;

- UNITED STATES PATENTS Deiters July 2, 1946

